A winning return for Peter Kay’s ingenious comic gem
Middle-aged men sitting in cars. No, it’s not the tailback outside a garden centre on a bank holiday. It’s an unlikely TV trend. We’ve got Top Gear pootling along on Sunday evenings, James Corden’s
Carpool Karaoke causing a stir in the States and The Trip to Spain cruising down Iberian autovias on Sky Atlantic.
Last night they were joined by hatchback hilarity on Peter Kay’s Car
Share (BBC One) – the return of the Boltonian’s Bafta-winning comedy about the daily commute of two supermarket colleagues.
As we rejoined jovial assistant manager John (Kay) and scatty promotions rep Kayleigh (Sian Gibson), they were reluctantly travelling to work separately. Since moving in with her sister, “our Mandy” – an unseen character in the tradition of Mrs Columbo, Mrs Mainwaring, Maris Crane and Arthur Daley’s “her indoors” – Kayleigh was catching an arduous succession of buses, trains and trams. Her court shoes were killing her.
Meanwhile, John looked a little lonely in his dinky red Fiat 500L. When he had a road rage row with a lippy cyclist (“Get your drink off my roof – it’s a car, not a coaster”), it was captured on his adversary’s helmet-cam and went viral on YouTube. A neat contemporary touch from Kay, often regarded as an old-school stand-up.
Kayleigh soon submitted to temptation and called her old travelling partner. Half of this opening episode was a two-hander conducted by phone, complete with lost signals and pocket noise. A nostalgic pop soundtrack was provided by fictional radio station Forever FM (“playing timeless hits, now and forever”) – any resemblance to Heart or Magic entirely not coincidental. There was also a sneaky cameo from Elbow frontman Guy Garvey, acquitting himself well in his acting debut.
The script recalled the work of Victoria Wood, Caroline Aherne and even Alan Bennett. This was humour of the everyday: low-key yet keenly observed, sharp yet compassionate, full of cosy colloquialisms and delicious turns of phrase. Into their deceptively simple set-up, Kay and his co-writers (who include his underrated co-star Gibson) pour wit, warmth and a whole lot of heart.
There were even hints of romance in the closing scene, which saw John find an excuse to revive their car sharing arrangement. “Maybe some things are worth going out of your way for,” he grinned soppily, while REO Speedwagon sang “I can’t fight this feeling anymore” on the car radio. On sofas nationwide, the same soppy grin spread across viewers’ faces. A winning return for this ingenious comic gem.
It’s a year since the sad death of comedy trailblazer Victoria Wood. She’s much missed by fans but here came some succour. Our Friend
Victoria (BBC One) is a six-part series which sees Wood’s work celebrated by her peers and co-stars.
This opening edition was presented by her longtime friend and collaborator Julie Walters, who examined Wood’s take on age. Her characters spanned the generations, from naïve teenagers such as goosefatslathered cross-Channel swimmer Chrissie (“I don’t do French, I do woodwork”) to the menopausal misfits on dinnerladies (“My HRT patch has fallen in the minestrone”) – plus, of course, those hip-creaking old crones played by Walters herself.
As Acorn Antiques charlady Mrs Overall choked on her own macaroon or the doddery waitress spilt two soups, it was still as hysteria-inducing on the umpteenth viewing.
Fittingly for someone whose gift was turning ordinary situations into extraordinary comedy, Walters reminisced about her friend from a launderette and a greasy spoon. Richard E Grant, Maxine Peake and Michael Ball were among those paying tribute. Actors Duncan Preston and Celia Imrie recalled their struggles to keep a straight face during the soup sketch.
Admittedly, this was a glorified clip show – but what clips they were. Whether in sketch form, sitcom or live stand-up, Wood was warmly engaging and endlessly quotable. A chronicler of life’s amusing minutiae. Fearless, too, as she tackled everything from her weight to her wardrobe, her failing eyesight to her Fallopian tubes. Most of all, she was flat-out funny.
It was all a welcome reminder of Wood’s distinctive talent and made an ideal companion piece to Car
Share, which preceded it. With this delightful double bill, BBC One delivered us an Easter treat.
Peter Kay’s Car Share ★★★★★ Our Friend Victoria ★★★